| "It is for freedom that Chist has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" Galations 5 : 1 |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Prayer Update - March 2010 "Yet to those who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave them the right to become children of God." John 1:12 |
Dear Friends. A very belated Happy New Year to you all. It seems amazing that we’re in March already! Since we last wrote in December there has been lots happening – a lot to praise God for and many motives for prayer so please keep reading and rejoice and pray with us! |
| In the month leading up to Christmas the youth group practiced a Nativity play and a choreography of the song, “My Jesus, My Saviour” to present at the Christmas service. The Sunday before Christmas, there was a special service where the teenagers from the youth group and also the children from the church took part. Many parents came to see their children and it was really moving to see a large group of teenagers take part in the choreography of such a beautiful song, giving glory to God with their movement and voice. Just before our last week of classes in December, we took part in a 5-day club along with the sports area of FundacionTotai. Over 100 children each day came together for a time of singing, drama, memory verse, teaching, small groups and games. It was a great way to finish the year, with so many children all in one place learning from God's word and praising the Lord. From December to March, it’s rainy season here and schools close in December for the holidays and the new school year starts back in February. The Freedom Kids classes also had a break over this time, giving more time for family visitation and preparation for this year’s classes and Bible studies. |
| The Freedom Kids classes started again on Monday 8th March, with a different group of children coming on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays like last year. Since Laura left Totai in December, we have a new teacher working with us this year. Sammy Gutierrez Rea is a Christian, who has been working as a music teacher for many years and is very keen to get involved in the ministry and work with the children and get to know the parents. Please pray for Sammy as he gets settled into this new area of work for him and that he will quickly build good relationships with the children and families. |
 | |  |
| Once again the alternative gifts so kindly bought by friends at Cartsbridge for Christmas have been a huge help. Apart from helping to buy some of the t-shirts, other gifts sent were back to school packs, uniforms, textbooks, newborn baby packs, medicines and laboratory tests, all of which were very gratefully received. Thank you to everyone who bought alternative gifts for family and friends and contributed to the children's needs here in Trinidad. |
| The girls also helped in the distribution on colouring in packs and Bible verse t-shirts to all the children from the prisons and community and it was really encouraging seeing how keen they were to help out, put packs together, and visit families to give out Christmas gifts to the children. This year the specially made Bible verse t-shirts have “JESUS” written on the front in graffiti letters and John 1: 12 on the back: “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” |
| Rachel and the girls in the town square |
| "My Jesus, My Saviour" choreography |
| Laura and the girls getting ready to give out Christmas packs in the woman's prison |
| We already have around 30 children enrolled for two of the classes and the Friday class with the little ones looks like it will be packed with up to 40 children from 3-8 years old! Please remember us in your prayers as we seek to keep them all under control so we can then teach them! It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to share God’s word with all these children on a weekly basis. Please pray for wisdom and guidance for us as we teach, and for patience with behaviour in the class. We’ve been able to visit almost all of the families of the children who come to class in the past few weeks and the response from parents has been very positive when we talked about the classes starting again. Please pray for continued good relationships with parents and that God will open doors to share the gospel with them, as we visit and chat with them, and share what we’re teaching their children in class. |
| Thank you for all your prayers and support. Please keep praying. love Rachel and Chicho xx |
| The teenage girls Bible study started again in mid-February with between 5-7 girls attending each of the two groups on Tuesdays. Most of these girls are now also attending the Saturday night youth group at “El Jireh” church and a couple have started coming to church on Sunday mornings, which is a real encouragement. During the Christmas holidays, nine of the girls had a sleepover here at the house, and we had a great night chatting, playing, eating cake, and watching Christian movies. We visited the central square in the town and took photos together and it was a really special time to just do something informal and spend time together and get to know each other better. In the end we watched 3 films back to back before the girls finally were tired enough to go to sleep! |
| "JESUS" t-shirts |
| School Uniforms |
| Back to school packs |
| Textbooks |
| Newborn baby pack |
| Laboratory Tests |
| Alternative Gifts bought by friends at Cartsbridge Evangelical Church |
| Sammy Gutierrez with boys from the men's prison |
